Thursday, April 19, 2012

5+02 Thursday Tips: 7 Things to Take Care of After the Wedding

If you just got married and just got back from your honeymoon, you might feel overwhelmed that real life has begun. There are hundreds of wedding planning checklists available, yet that checklist does not necessarily end on your wedding day. To help you get started a bit, here are seven things on your to-do list after the wedding.

1. Send out “thank you”s.
It is recommended that thank-you notes should be sent out within two weeks of your return from the honeymoon. Finishing all those notes seems a bit daunting, but if you and your spouse set a goal together to write a set amount of thank you notes each day, you'll finish it in no time. Thank you notes do not need to be lengthy, but they should be handwritten and personalized. For every cash gift or item you recieve, include a note about how you plan to use the money or how the item has helped you already.
2. Finish the last of your wedding detail.
Before you settle into life with your spouse, it’s important to finish the last of your wedding details. This includes paying off any remaining debt and balances to your wedding vendors and returning your rentals and borrowed items.

3. Organize your wedding album and DVD.
Gather up all of the wedding photos from your professional photographer, family and friends and create your wedding album. More and more photographers will not provide you with an album so that family and friends can review it but also making them available for online viewing with a password protected link. Once you have ordered and received copies of your wedding photos, begin working on your wedding album. If you’d like, you can even put together smaller albums as gifts for family members.

4. Preserve your wedding keepsakes.
It’s also a good idea to set aside your favorite wedding keepsakes for safeguarding. So, make preparations to clean and store your gown, preserve your bouquet, make a display case of your favorite items or set aside special items in a safe storage area. Other obvious things to include would be invitations, a CD of the songs played during the ceremony and reception and typed transcripts of your speeches. Store them in a cool, dry place.

5. Sort through your gifts.
Many stores have a time limit on gift exchanges and each store will have a different policy on when you need to make returns by and what they’ll take back. Thus, it’s important to sort through your gifts as soon as you can. Make the necessary returns and exchanges as needed. Take note if you receive store credit, and decide as a couple how to save or spend your monetary gifts.

6. Change your Name and Address.
Ideally, you should change your IDs within 90 days of getting hitched and make sure the right people know. Apply the changes on your driver’s license, passport, and social security card. Call your credit card companies, bank, and insurance companies so they can be aware of the changes as well. If you did change addresses after the wedding, make sure your family and friends know your new address.

7. Set up and start managing your (joint) accounts.
If you have not already done so, set up a joint checking and savings account. If you already have a joint account, be sure to order checks with your new name and address. You may also want to call credit card companies, insurance companies, phone providers, and contacting your accountant to file together on tax returns to add your spouse to your accounts.